what would MacGyver do?

The health care mess. You know the one. The one screwing everything and everyone up. What would MacGyver do?

A story in today’s New York Times talks about “Bringing Comparison Shopping to the Doctor’s Office.” It opens with “Americans comparison-shop for items as small as groceries and as big as cars. But they rarely compare prices on their health care.” That’s the messaging I used when I was the flack for The Leapfrog Group, urging people to research hospitals to compare quality and track records before checking in for care. (Go to Leapfrog for a free tool that allows you to comparison shop for hospital care.)

What’s that you say? You don’t want to have to “shop” for a personal health care provider? You have quite enough on your plate, thank you? Can’t docs just get along, keep their hands clean, and be good, competent and honest?

With health care today embodying divergent modes of care, conflicting philosophies even on what “health” means, alternative vs. traditional medicine, and docs who overcharge and  ones who don’t wash their hands, we have to face the music. While our nation’s health continues its downward steady march, you need to add health literacy to your to do list.

MacGyer says do your homework when it comes to your health.

* * *

It’s Friday and I’m giving you homework? Criminy! Since school’s mostly out, I give you a funny video of BP oil execs handling a disastrous coffee spill…

One more thing: Text “GULF” to 50555 to give $10 to www.SaveOurGulf.org (founded by Robert F. Kennedy), more info at http://yhoo.it/9DPypz; or, text “WILDLIFE” to 20222 to give $10 to the National Wildlife Federation oil spill efforts, more info at http://nwf.org/oilspill.

on work

Don’t know if you noticed, but I recently changed the tagline for this blog from “conscious living informed by current knowledge” to “i make mistakes so you don’t have to.”

Clearly (or not), there’s a battle raging inside my own head. What the heck am I doing here?

cherry blossoms right about now

I spent most of yesterday morning answering a steady onslaught of questions from a PhD candidate who is researching the connection between mothers’ involvement in their children’s schooling and mental health. You can imagine the introspection that was sparked…

So, I recently decided to become underemployed. (“Mommy, when you were a kid, what did you want to be?” Me: “I hoped to become the best underemployed person in the world, Johnny.”) My consulting workload has decreased due to the slow economy, and instead of looking to make up for the unbilled time, I’ve decided to use that time to learn new work skills, start a blog, do pro bono work and volunteer in my kids’ classrooms. Oh, and squeeze in some exercise and more sleep, too.

Status report: I’m doing pretty well on every front except the exercise and sleep. (At this point, I could talk about how a mom’s work is never…, but I won’t. For that, you’ll have to read “Mom’s work is never done – or paid,” NY Daily News.)

Of course, the main downside is current (and potential future) loss of income. And it hurts. I’ve really had to call on my frugalista powers lately.

Last month, the “mommy track” turned 21. According to a great article in Slate, the concept emerged from a 1989 Harvard Business Review article covered by the New York Times. I like its conclusion: “The mommy track needn’t be the dull fate feminists predicted—and, increasingly, it’s not. Now all it needs is a new and better name.”

Major props go to my husband who wants me to do what I believe is best for me, and is willing to serve as procurer of bacon for now. He’s known to mutter to himself: “Why would anyone want to be employed?” According to a report published last year in the Harvard Business Review, his feelings are not unlike those surveyed who indicate they want flexible work environments and work-life balance.

Back in college and grad school, I dimly recall that I had no intention of staying at home once/if I had kids. Give me a break: I’d never had a real job! Now that I’ve clocked thousands of hours, billed for time in six minute increments, logged hundreds of thousands of frequent flier miles, blew cash on hundred-dollar ½-ounce undereye creams for the large bags that had mysteriously formed there, I know better.

Now that I spend a good chunk of my time on non-paid work, the challenge is not to fall prey to vocations like bonbon consumption (in my case, pita chips) and helicopter parenting – where parents become over-involved in their children’s lives, doing everything from calling college professors to complain about a grade to negotiating their kids’ salaries with the new boss.

Help save this from becoming a “mommy blog” (no offense to them intended) and submit ideas for future posts below.

frugalista

the beauty of this word is that it’s somewhat obvious what it means. William Safire says frugalista is defined as “a person who lives a frugal lifestyle but stays fashionable and healthy by swapping clothes, buying secondhand, growing own produce, etc.”

being the fashionable person that i am, i went to a clothing swap last sunday. i can’t tell you how excited i get by these parties. and parties is what they is. lots of drinking, lots of stripping, lots of pointing and laughing. honestly, what could be better? my comrades and i made off with some awesome loot. the next day, i saw a friend in my old (but cool) wool jacket and silver earrings.

the girl sporting clothes swap & consignment store finery

that same day, i happened to be wearing – yes, really – a large kid’s jacket that I had recently found on eBay. the identical, off-white, spring jacket by the same designer is loads more expensive in adult sizes. (i know: you can only use this tip if you happen to be small…) then, i saved more money on top of that from the fact that the thing was used. it’s in perfect condition, and i’ve received numerous compliments on it.

my friend Jess in New York City lives the frugal life as a member of a CSA (community supported agriculture). you join and pay in advance for a share of a local farmer’s produce for the season. then, you meet the farmer every week or so in town to pick up a crate full of assorted produce. for Jess, it “works out to about $20 a week to more than feed two people veggies from june through november. saves time at the grocery store, the gas to get there, and the fossil fuels required to transport tomatoes from california or cucumbers from mexico or whatever. plus, there’s the perk of buying locally, sustainably and investing in the community.”

i’ve long wanted to join a CSA, but couldn’t muster the commitment required to buy an assortment of produce over which i have little say. that’s a particularly high hurdle to clear when you’ve got munchkins at home whose universe of acceptable fruits and veggies is rather restrictive. i’m happy to report that another friend just turned me onto a CSA that offers a “buying club” option in which you can order things à la carte whenever you like.

Anna, a friend in DC, is bartering her graphic design skills for career coaching with a woman in California. all it took was a few emails, and now Anna is designing her coach’s book, while Anna’s business benefits from professional coaching.

her story encouraged me to ask my son’s piano teacher, Sophia, if she’d mind coming every other week instead of weekly, while i stepped in on alternate weeks to teach. not exactly bartering, but related…

and let’s not forget the almighty Freecycle. in Freecycle i trust. Freecycle lets me get some serious spring cleaning done (at any time of year) through a listserve where i can post unwanted belongings –from used shipping supplies to my kids’ outgrown shoes – and someone will email back, get pick up details, and appear as if by magic to take it away and put it to good use. no waste, no landfills, no guilt. then, there’s the stuff you can get for free! among my treasures: a nice wood platform bed; a high quality kids’ art easel; clothes; toys, and more.

someone offered up a diamond ring last year. i wasn’t quick enough on the draw to nab that one

weigh in with more ideas!